


But WHY did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle “do” Johnlock?

by Sherloki1854



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Johnlock - Freeform, M/M, Meta, Oscar Wilde - Freeform, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Freeform, Subtext, TJLC | The Johnlock Conspiracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-04-21 02:23:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4811339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherloki1854/pseuds/Sherloki1854
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I’ve had a huge discussion with someone on why they are so clearly in love with each other although the stories were published/are set in the Victorian Era. He doubts that Sir ACD would have done something so dangerous (essentially, his stance is “why make them gay if it isn’t important to the plot?”). So here are my ideas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But WHY did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle “do” Johnlock?

I’ve already had some ideas, which I mentioned in [this post](http://sherloki1854.tumblr.com/post/126904028305/johnlock-in-canon). But since then I've reconsidered it and this is what I can think of at the moment.

Reasons:

  * On the level of "Sir ACD is the author": He hated SH and wanted to laugh up his sleeve (“I know something you don’t and you would hate him too if you knew”) - after all, this is Victorian England. But I’m increasingly having trouble seeing this (Sir ACD wasn’t so callous, I think). Another possible reason is that Sir ACD intended to criticise the appalling social rules and laws that attempted to forbid homosexuality. Or it could even be a mixture of those two, as unlikely as it seems: after all, they are never caught, get a happy end (more or less) etc. 

  * On Sir ACD’s level: He had to; Dupin and his narrator, who he based SH and Dr Watson on, are obviously lovers. (See [this post](http://sherloki1854.tumblr.com/post/129207929375/sir-acd-based-sh-on-poes-dupin-do-form-your) for their first meeting in The Murders in Rue Morgue.)

  * On the level of “Sir ACD is Watson’s editor”: For Watson the stories are about his fascination with the man he’s in love with, and their adventures ([as Mark Gatiss put it](http://sherloki1854.tumblr.com/post/129142916600/sherheck-fordeisbored-in-the-foreword)), and Sir ACD couldn’t “delete” everything because then not much would have been left of the stories, so he kept some of the love in. 

  * On Watson’s and Holmes’s level (and Sir ACD agreed to be Watson’s "pen name"): Well, it is interesting that most of the stories were published either during the hiatus (when Watson thought Holmes was dead and it wouldn’t hurt him anyway if the world knew how much Watson loved Holmes) or after Holmes’s retirement to Sussex (most probably with Watson), which would mean exactly the same: it wouldn't hurt his reputation/job if there were a few suspicions. Also, we know that when the situation starts to get dangerous, [they are perfectly capable to disappear for a few months](http://sherloki1854.tumblr.com/post/128934073105/where-holmes-and-watson-were-in-1895-hiding-from).




And now on to the point of “why make them gay if it isn't important to the plot?”:

This is fairly important: unlike [Dr Watson’s “marriage”, which is a made-up plot device](http://sherloki1854.tumblr.com/post/129147721160/watsons-marriages-proof-of-johnlock), their relationship is not a plot device; it is essential to the plot. You can even say it is the plot, [as Moffat does](http://sherloki1854.tumblr.com/post/128342477055/interviewer-the-character-of-sherlock-holmes-is). And as it isn’t a plot device, it must be real.

 


End file.
